It was a four-game series that very few saw coming. I heard some predictions say that the Boston Bruins would win the series against the Penguins. I mean, I was one of them. Most of the predictions that had the Bruins winning had the series going six or seven games. Not once, even from the biggest Boston version of a Yinzer, did I see anyone say a sweep. It was unfathomable. It truly was. It did, however, happen. All of the moves that Penguins General Manager Ray Shero made at the trade deadline were for not. After the 1-0 loss to the Bruins sealed the Penguins fate, the reaction was that Head Coach Dan Bylsma needed to be fired.
One man who went against what seemed to be the popular opinion was Shero. For the Penguins organization, it’s lucky he didn’t have the same type of knee-jerk reaction that the fans did. In fact, Shero believes in Bylsma so much that he not only said the team was going to keep him as its coach, he also announced a two-year extension to his contract.
Well done, Ray. Well done.
Fans aren’t happy. Just type his Shero’s, Bylsma or Pens into twitter and you will see that. The fact is, Shero made the right call.
The team underperformed in the playoffs. That’s no secret at all. To criticize Bylsma for that is asinine. Does he deserve some blame for his in-game adjustments? Without a doubt. To say that he deserves to lose his job for his team scoring just two goals is laughable. If you want to talk about accountability, what about the stars of the team? What about Sidney Crosby’s Houdini act, Evgeni Malkin’s inability to put a puck in the net (although he otherwise played well) or Kris Letang’s transformation into Mike Green?
To those that criticize Bylsma’s system not working in the playoffs, it looked to work pretty well in the first two rounds when they were scoring at a record pace, no? To judge a coach or a player on a four-game series is simply unfair and wrong.
“What about the last few years in the playoffs when they blew the series?”
Since you brought it up, let’s take a look at it as it is explained thoroughly by Pittsburgh Sporting News contributor Kurtis Savage:
“Hockey fans are the most reactionary people on the planet. Apparently because Dan Bylsma doesn’t win the cup EVERY year, he should just be fired. Let’s go through what’s happened since 2009:
2010- Pens eliminated by Montreal in Game 7, Round 2. Fleury spots the Habs a 4-0 lead in Game 7.
2011- Pens blow 3-1 series lead in Round 1 against eventual EC Champs Tampa Bay (sic). No Crosby or Malkin. Chris Connor saw ice time. Not Bylsma’s fault.
2012- The only place Disco deserves blame. Flyers get in Pens head, Bylsma loses control of the team.
2013- Pens get swept in Conference Finals. Uninspired Captainship, 10,000 posts hit, awful defensive play from Letang and others in first couple games. Bylsma makes all necessary adjustments, players don’t perform.
I should remind you all prior to today’s press conference that Dan Bylsma one of the top 5 winningest coaches in NHL history (based on win percentage), and is the fastest coach to 200 NHL wins.”
I can’t agree with his words more, except that Tampa didn’t go on to win the Eastern Conference. The majority of the blame that Bylsma should receive goes to the Flyers series last year, not the series against the Bruins. In case you missed it, the Penguins made the needed adjustments in Game 3 and Game 4 and lost by just one goal each time. The inability to create traffic or to cause deflections made Tuukka Rask’s life easy.
Again, not on Bylsma.
If it helps the Yinzers feel better, realize that the Penguins are modeling the team after the Pittsburgh Steelers. They find a coach and say that this is the guy they are sticking with. The team did make it to the Eastern Conference Finals (albeit only gained half of the wins it takes to win the Stanley Cup) and had the second best record in all of hockey.
To say Stanley Cup or bust is an ignorant statement. In the past nine years, there have been nine different teams to win the Stanley Cup. Winning, let alone getting to the Finals is the hardest championship trip to attain in sports in my opinion.
From going to the hot seat against the Islanders, to having job security against the Senators, to once again having his head on the chopping block; welcome to the life of a head coach. It’s an constant a “what have you done for me lately” profession.
I’m not a betting man, but I’d feel safe to say that the same people that wanted Bylsma gone are the same ones that called for Mike Tomlin’s head after an 8-8 season or the ones that called for Clint Hurdle’s head last year after the team collapsed despite a 22-game improvement in two years.
If Pitt basketball struggles in its inaugural season in the ACC this year, Jamie Dixon should go to, right?
Photo Credits: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
